This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola's Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. LOUIS -- Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez planned to lean on mentor Sandy Alcantara in 2024 as he navigated his first full season in the big leagues, one he had such high hopes for.

Pérez will still rely on Miami’s ace for guidance, but he will do so while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Ahead of Thursday’s series opener against the Cardinals, the Marlins announced that Pérez will undergo the procedure on Monday in Texas.

“He's been with me through everything,” Pérez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “In every bullpen, he was the first person who pulled me aside and told me, ‘I'm going to be here with you, and we're going to go through this together.’

“We won't be able to help them from the mound, but surely we're going to be helping from the dugout, going to be there supporting our teammates, cheering for them, and constantly tell them that everything's going to be OK.”

The 20-year-old Pérez, one of baseball’s brightest young pitchers, was looking forward to building off the success he experienced as a rookie in 2023. Pérez expected a larger workload, one that would’ve allowed him to pitch through Game 162 -- something he was unable to do in October.

When Miami traveled to Philadelphia for the National League Wild Card Series, Pérez’s season was cut short by left SI joint inflammation.

Having already lost Alcantara to a UCL tear, it was yet another blow to the pitching staff entering the postseason. Though just 19 starts into his career, Pérez showed the makings of an ace, posting a 142 ERA+ and a 1.13 WHIP while striking out 108 batters in 91 1/3 frames.

“I'm very disappointed,” Pérez said. “This was supposed to be my first season starting with the team, and I was hoping to help the team in any way I can. And now I feel terrible knowing the outcome of everything, and I'm not going to be able to help the team.

“It was hard because I felt like I came into spring with a lot of strength. My velocity was really high, secondary pitches were working really good, and I was just looking forward to probably getting 200 strikeouts and just finishing with the team really strong towards the end of the season. That was one of the goals.”

Pérez visited Dr. Keith Meister on Thursday for the second time in less than two weeks after experiencing tightness in his elbow during his bullpen session on Tuesday. Meister noticed an anomaly in the MRI that needed to be fixed via surgery.

The right elbow soreness first surfaced on March 14, when Pérez alerted the training team. He had exited his Grapefruit League outing the day before due to discomfort from a broken nail on his right middle finger.

When Pérez first saw Meister, testing revealed mild right elbow inflammation and no structural damage, so he began playing catch a couple of days later per the doctor’s recommendation.

“It wasn't easy,” Pérez said. “We were trying to go through a different progress, trying to go through the pain, therapy. And when I did my bullpen, I was trying to throw harder, push it. I was feeling some discomfort, some pain, mostly with my changeup, because I need to extend my arm a little more. It was very disappointing and very difficult to go through that.”